VASSALBORO PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES
MAY 5, 2020
REMOTE MEETING USING GOOGLE MEET
7:00 P.M.

Board Members Present: Ginny Bracket, Chair, Doug Phillips, John Phillips, Betsy Poulin,
Marianne Stevens, Alternate
Staff: Paul Mitnik, CEO, LPI, BI, AO
Public: Kara Moody, Stantec; Nate Niles, Revision Energy, Bernie Welch, David Trask

Call meeting to order.

1.) March 10, 2020 Minutes
The Minutes were approved by motion of Doug Phillips, seconded by Marianne Stevens 5-0.

Doug Phillips mentioned that the south gate of Olin Charette’s property was blocked which is in violation of the condition of his Planning Board permit. The screening on the north side of the property has collapsed and needs repair. He asked Paul to address this issue.

2.) A. Applicant Name: Long Road Energy Management LLC
Project Type: Major Site Plan Review Pre-application
Location 2579 Riverside Drive
Map 4 Lot 4

A pre-application meeting is one in which the project is introduced to the Planning Board and no formal application is submitted or decision is made.

Kara Moody of Stantec Corp discussed the project.

• The project is a 4.1 megawatt solar ground mounted array
• The total footprint encompasses 28 acres with 20.7 acres containing the solar panels. Most of site is on existing fields so little clearing is anticipated.
• Wetlands on site were delineated by wetland scientists
• Stantec has notified land abutters
• Long Roads has several solar array projects already constructed around Maine
• Access roads are not yet built
• Permits from DEP required are Site Location of Development and Stormwater. A driveway entrance permit will be needed from DOT.
• DEP considers the access roads and supporting pads as impervious area but not the solar panels.
• Ginny Brackett explained that the site plan for the application will have to contain more detail
• The wetlands on site are not large enough (< 10 acres) to trip the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance
• There will be lighting on the supporting pads.
• The project will be developed all at once and not in stages.

B. Applicant Name Revision Energy
Project Type: Major Site Plan Review Pre-application
Location Main St
Map 12 Lot 4-A

A pre-application meeting is one in which the project is introduced to the Planning Board and no formal application is submitted or decision is made.

Open discussion of Project initially started by Nate Niles of Revision Energy and subsequently by the Planning Board members.

• The project is a 0.78 mW ground mounted solar array encompassing 4 acres and will be surrounded by a 7 foot high fence.
• A portion of the project falls within the limited residential / commercial shoreland zone
• The project is within 130 feet of the Outlet Stream at its closest point from the high water mark.
• Bernie Welch owns the property
• The DOT driveway entrance permit has already been received. A Stormwater permit by rule is also necessary.
• 5 x 5 concrete pads will support a transformer
• Wetland were delineated by wetland scientists
• The project will take about 90 to 100 days to build
• Doug Phillips was concerned that the project could be distracting to traffic on Main St (Route 32). He asked about how much cutting of vegetation would be done along the road and if scrubs could be planted without interfering with the solar lighting requirements.
• Betsy Poulin asked about mowing and if there would be a performance bond for decommissioning the solar project which typically have a life of 25 years. Nate said mowing would be minimal and decommissioning bonds are typically not submitted.
• Revision plans to submit an application for the June 2nd meeting
• The Board pondered the necessity for a public hearing and decided that it was not necessary.
• Ginny Brackett asked that the meeting be advertised on the Town website.
  
  

3.) CEO Report
Paul discussed two different issues. The first was a lot that was split in a subdivision at Dollis Ave. without Planning Board authorization. He asked what the Board expected for this application. Ginny Brackett said a subdivision final plan and septic evaluation showing passable soils for this use would suffice. The second was the proposal to add addition apartments to Klarity Kassette which are the apartments at the former Vassalboro elementary school. He said that the site plan that was signed by the Board and the file made it difficult to determine what was formerly approved. Ginny Brackett indicated that since the former application is vague, a full subdivision application should be submitted.
Adjourn 8:45 PM

Respectfully submitted
Paul Mitnik, CEO, LPI, BI, AO